Newton's Laws
by Lost In A Dark Wood
Summary: Even the Royal House of the Fire Nation can't avoid the laws of physics. Longer summary inside. First Avatar fic posted online, kindly R&R.


**Title: **Newton's Laws

**Rating: **T

**Pairings: **Zutara, and one sided Meiko

**Warnings: **Multiple character deaths, multiple POV, and reverse chronological order

**Disclaimer: **Newton was a European man, while A:TLA is clearly set in an Asian inspired world, what does that say about this ficlet? The only Avatar-Related thing I own is a few DVDs and a Zuko action figure, all of which I received as gifts. Did I mention I'm broke? So don't sue please. Also, I'm not a science person and I know that the laws I'm using here are less than 100 right.

**Summary**: Force equals mass times acceleration, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and an object in motion will remain in motion… these are Newton's Laws, and when applied to the Avatar Universe they have catastrophic results for the Royal House of the Fire Nation.

**Force equals mass times acceleration**

The word spreads quickly through the streets: the Princess' ship has sailed into the harbor. The Fire Lord observes it coming into port on his daily walk and he immediately orders that the most majestic fireworks display ever mounted in the Fire Nation be readied to celebrate his daughter's triumphant return, because he knows that she can only return in triumph. Almost like a small child he hurries to his throne room to wait for her. Fifteen minutes pass and he does not worry. By the end of the hour he has begun to wonder what is keeping her, but he realizes at the end of the second hour that his daughter would not be foolish enough to parade his son and brother in chains through the capital. Angry at his stupidity he readies the royal escort and heads to her ship. He arrives at the end of the third hour and is greeted by a skeleton crew. The few men onboard drop to their knees, groveling before him. He recognizes the captain and orders him to stand and take him to his daughter. Shaking, the captain nods and takes him to the Princess' chambers. The Fire Lord had hoped to find his son and brother in chains beside his daughter, but all there is are two corpses with matching scars and a note signed The Traitor.

There are no fireworks that night.

**For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction**

The Earth Kingdom general watches the old man and the young boy spar with fascination. Fire dances everywhere, and the general is at once overcome with awe and paralyzed with fear. Unbeknownst to the elder Firebender, he and the general have a long history. Years ago in a war council at Ba Sing Se a captain stumbled in clumsily, bearing a message for one of the generals. In the Fire Nation he would doubtlessly have been put to an agonizing death, instead an annoyed general told him to stay in order to avoid further distraction. The captain watched in silence as the generals discussed the Dragon of the West, trying desperately to find his Achilles Heel, each solution more preposterous than the last, until a senile man, allowed into the council only because he had once been great, suggested they cut off the Fire Prince's access to tea. Trembling, the captain raised his hand. "What if," he started, "we kill his son?" The suggestion had earned him the rank of general and a princess' hand in marriage. For years it has been a point of honor for the general that with a single casualty he saved the Earth Kingdom, and more importantly, outmaneuvered the Dragon of the West. But now, as he watches the reaction of the man who would have been Fire Lord to his nephew's death, he trembles to think that his foolhardy suggestion could have just as easily leveled Ba Sing Se and lead the Earth Kingdom to the fate of the Air Nomads.

**Any object in motion will remain in motion…**

Azula is raging, but that is hardly out of the usual, and is not what has Ty Lee worried. Azula is thoroughly predictable, and as long as you duck her fireballs, there is nothing to fear from her. Mei on the other hand… Mei is quiet and pensive, entirely unlike Ty Lee who is loud and emotive, which makes it all the harder for Ty Lee to read what's behind Mei's quiet eyes. To read Azula Ty Lee needs no translator, the words are flowing from the princess' mouth as fire flows from her hands: Zuko this, and Avatar that; damned water witch, insufferable barbarian and not to forget the blind twit. Azula vows to get the Avatar and his little lemur too. Ty Lee simply giggles and nods and cartwheels out of the way, and her eyes land on Mei, who is silently flicking knives at the wall with… something other than boredom, and for a split second the mask falls and concern replaces the usual pink glee, but no one notices. Azula is too busy fuming and Mei only sees red on blue and tan on alabaster. Her heart breaks anew every second and she cannot banish the scared face of the banished prince who has no right not to love her or the foreign smile of the girl who has no right to his heart from her mind. This nobleman's daughter has spent years hiding her emotions, and that is the only thing that keeps the tears from coming. Finally, Azula's words break through her daydream nightmare: If only my damn Uncle didn't have the lives of a rabbit-cat. Mei throws one last knife with deadly precision and turns to face Azula. "What if," she starts, "what if we kill his son?" And Azula's mad rage melts into a handsome smile which is a thousand times more terrifying than any lightning bolt she might throw. "Maybe we should just cut off his access to tea," Ty Lee jokes nervously, but no one hears her; Azula is scheming quietly and Mei is sharpening her knives.

**Author's Notes:** Three pseudo-drabbles telling about the destruction of the House of Ozai and the Fall of the Fire Nation. In case I failed at telling this story, what happens is this: Mei sees Zuko and Katara together, and you know what they say, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Out of spite she suggests killing Zuko to Azula as a way of getting to Iroh. Azula figure's Iroh will fall apart after Zuko's death, just like he did after Lu Ten's death. However she miscalculates and brings Iroh's fury down upon her. Iroh then joins the Avatar and offers to teach him firebending. From a height the Earth Kingdom general who suggested they target Lu Ten watches Iroh and Aang spar, and realizes that if Iroh had reacted to Lu Ten's death the same way he did to Zuko's, Ba Sing Se would have been toast. (No pun intended). Finally, Azula's ship returns to the Fire Nation, with the corpses of Azula and Zuko, and a note from Iroh.

So why did Iroh react so much more violently to Zuko's death? On the one hand it's clear that Iroh loves Zuko very much, more perhaps than he even loved his own son. He accepts Zuko as the spoiled brat that he is, and is willing to go to great lengths for him, leaving his homeland to go on an impossible quest, stalking him, putting up with his tantrums (Zuko was REALLY mean to poor Iroh in 2.01), and even compromising his own morals (stealing the ostrich-horse). If it weren't for Zuko, he would probably still be living in quiet disgust in the Fire Nation. Also, when Iroh disappeared after Lu Ten's death he clearly believed that he could see his son again. A trip to the Spirit World proved him wrong (this is speculation) and he has no hope of seeing Zuko alive now, which would make the separation much more painful. I also think that Iroh has a dangerous vengeful side, as seen when he attacks Zhao at the end of Siege of the North Part 2.

Alrighty then, if you've taken the time to read this all, you might as well review. Flames are welcome and will be used to roast the Fire Lord and boil Iroh's tea.

-Lost in a Dark Wood


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